Khabar-i Wahid

In Shia jurisprudential practice, Khabar-i Wahid serves as a substantial tool for deriving legal rulings. It allows scholars to extract ethical and religious directives from singular narratives, framing them as pivotal criteria for pronouncing law. Yet, this invocation of single-source reports may evoke uncertainties—how does one ensure the authenticity and integrity of such accounts? This inquiry poses a playful question that beckons more profound exploration.

Furthermore, Shia scholars incorporate rigorous methodologies to assess the narrators involved in Khabar-i Wahid. Evoking systems such as “Ilal al-Shara’i,” they meticulously examine the reliability, context, and potential biases inherent in the transmitters’ accounts. Thus, while Khabar-i Wahid plays a central role in jurisprudence, it is suffused with an underlying tension—between reliance on individual narratives and the quest for collective authenticity.

3. Comparative Analysis: Shia and Sunni Perspectives